Traditional approaches to multimedia streaming provide content that is encoded at a constant or variable bit rate and transmitted from a server to one or more clients over a transmission channel with finite and fixed capacity. For example, standard telephone quality audio content is often encoded at 64 K bits per second (b/s). Therefore, a telephone transmission channel must have a throughput of at least 64 K b/s to properly stream the audio content.
In newer developments, video content or other content (e.g. audio, data, etc.) may be delivered over the communication channel using an adjustable transmission bit rate, wherein the adjustable transmission bit rate may be balanced with robustness. One reason for concern over robustness is that some forms of data transmission—such as over-the-airwaves RF broadcast—may require levels of data protection against transmission errors that are to a degree a function of the current weather conditions and/or geographic topology of the area wherein the signal is broadcast and received. For example, a thunder storm may induce higher levels of interference. Thus, a server or transmitter may select an appropriate degree of data protection to provider a higher degree of robustness in the transmission. A higher degree of data protection is typically achieved by increasing the power of channel coding techniques (such techniques increase the level of redundancy in the data) which leads to a reduced bit rate for the transmission of information (video, audio or data).
Accordingly, an over-the-airwaves RF transmitter may select a more robust mode of data transmission under circumstances that threaten the overall quality of service planned by the service provider or transmitter. For example, where bad weather reduces the effective information data transmission rate, it may be necessary to use a greater amount of the available bandwidth to provide redundancy. Such redundancy may include the use of a cyclical redundancy code (CRC) or convolutional block codes within the transmission. Accordingly, the bandwidth remaining for content transmission may be reduced, possibly resulting in lower video content display resolution.
Unfortunately, where the available information bandwidth changes and the transmitter changes the amount of the bandwidth devoted to redundancy, known receivers may fail to buffer and process the incoming data in an efficient manner.